Professor Jun Liu, a member of the English Department since 1992, was named one of the university's outstanding professors in a ceremony marking the opening of the 2014-2015 academic year. At Cal State L.A., the annual Outstanding Professor Awards recognize excellence in teaching and cite significant achievements in scholarly inquiry or creativity, professional activities, and service to the campus and community.

Dr. Liu, also known by his pen name Toming Jun Liu, received his education in China, the United Kingdom and the United States. He was a professional translator at the United Nations Secretariat in New York from 1981 to 1984. His book-length translation of the famous Chinese writer Mu Xin, titled An Empty Room: Stories, was published by New Directions in 2011 and was praised in reviews. In 2013, his translation of Mu Xin’s “SOS” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Dr. Liu has taught a wide variety of courses in such areas as composition, critical theory, 20th century American literature, American ethnic literature, diasporic literature, and 19th and 20th century European literature. In addition, he has designed and regularly taught a course in the Asian and Asian American Studies Program entitled “Ancient East Asian Literature and the Modern World.”

Currently, Dr. Liu is on the editorial committees of three academic journals: Journal of East-West Thought, Foreign Literature, and Chinese Translators’ Journal. As a columnist for the progressive Chinese newspaper Southern Weekend, he regularly contributes prose on literary, social, and political issues and is tagged by as many as 5 million Chinese online readers as a noteworthy author.

Three universities in China have awarded him honorary titles to recognize him as a significant international scholar in Western literature and critical theory. In 2014, he submitted an article at the invitation of the Congress of Mexico that will be published as part of a book in commemoration of the 2014 Year of Paz in Mexico.